At this year’s annual Pacific Region Learning Summit (PRLS) at Leeward CC on May 14 to 18, Brent and I facilitated an updated version of our “Course by Design” workshop series from the one we offered last summer. Joining us this summer were:

Participants used a planning worksheet (Google Doc) that guided them through each of the four steps. New to the process is mapping alignment of outcomes, objectives, and activities which greatly helped instructors to see all the pieces and how they relate to each other. Once they had everything mapped out, they started to build their lesson modules using our Google Sites template for a quick-start.

The goal was to go through at least one cycle of the course design process to create one lesson module. Then you would repeat the process to create the rest of your lesson modules.

Participants who created at least one lesson module using the four-step course design process earned the “Course Designer Creator” badge of achievement that can be used as evidence in contract renewal/tenure/promotion dossiers.

At the end of the week, participants said the following:

Attending the “Course by Design” workshop was a great opportunity to reflect back at the course that I teach and implement new ideas and concepts to keep my students engaged and motivated. I will certainly implement if not all, at least some of the activities that I envisioned during the PRLS, and I am glad that we discussed about the development of rubrics to assist with the process of scoring the activities.

I’ve gotten a chance to look more closely at how my course activities align with my learning outcomes, and this has allowed me to cut a few unnecessary lessons and replace them with others that align.

Course by Design helped clarify the alignment of course level outcomes with modules and activities. It opened my mind to new connections, and I hope to take this knowledge and use it to re-work my class to improve the overall experience for the student.

We look forward to checking in with our participants and seeing what they create and how implementation goes!

Each summer, the Educational Media Center (EMC) hosts the Pacific Region Learning Summit (PRLS) at Leeward CC, a week-long professional development opportunity for instructors. During this past PRLS (May 15-19, 2017), we offered a new workshop track, Course By Design. We were fortunate to have eight dedicated instructors who registered for our track:

Christina Mende (Math & Sciences Division)

Faustino Dagdag (Business Division)

Darci Miyashiro (Math & Sciences Division)

Eric Matsuoka (Math & Sciences Division)

I-Chia Shih (Math & Sciences Division)

Nolan Miyahara (Professional Arts & Technology Division)

Reina Ojiri (Math & Sciences Division)

Ross Higa (Business Division)

In this track, we guided the instructors through using our four-step course design process for in-person classes. This process helped them to systematically organize and structure their courses to align their course outcomes with appropriate learning activities. And then put together their lesson modules on a website. Doing so helps students to navigate through the course, identify the expectations, and identify activities they need to complete to be successful in the course.

During the week we led participants through our four-step process using a mix of methods and activities to:

Identify student learning outcomes.

Create specific learning objectives.

Create activities to meet the learning objectives.

Build your lessons on a website.

Participants used a planning document (Google Doc) and learning modules website template (Google Sites) which we designed and developed for the four-step course design process. Some started creating lesson modules for their courses, while others chose to create supplemental lessons and activities for their courses. By the end of the week, participants were able to go through one cycle of the process to create at least one lesson module on their website. Now they have the knowledge, skills, and tools to continue creating the rest of their lesson modules.

All participants earned the “Course Designer Creator” badge of achievement for planning out their course and creating at least one lesson module during PRLS. These badges are helpful to use as evidence in tenure/promotion dossiers.

Participants Have Said

“I learned how to design a google site and how to create pages with activities that focus on helping students meet the learning outcomes. After taking this workshop, I have a starting template that is ready to be used for my future courses. And that is a wonderful feeling! I would recommend this program to other instructors who wants to develop their course sites for face-to-face or online courses.”

“I learned about best practices for my lesson and activity planning; how to clearly connect them with our SLOs and Learning Objectives; and how to present them in a professional looking page!”

“As for advice, I would say the best thing a participant to do is to keep an open mind.”

Register for Course By Design (Fall 2017)

If you’re interested in re-designing your course, consider joining us in the six-week “Course By Design” workshop series which we adapted for the fall semester. It will be on six consecutive Tuesdays from Oct.10 to Nov.14. For more information and to register, visit: https://course-by-design-fall-2017.eventbrite.com

As you wrap up things for the semester, consider applying for a letter of completion if you attended a workshop from the EMC and implemented something in your classroom. (This serves as good evidence for your next dossier.) No worries if you took a workshop this semester and haven’t implemented yet; you can apply after next semester. Here are the links to apply for a letter of completion (or badge):

It was so nice to see everyone back from summer break during Convocation Week!

The EMCers hit the ground running before the semester started by offering several opportunities and professional development events during Convocation Week. Many digital badges were awarded to participants who participated and accomplished the events’/workshops’ objectives (perfect for including as evidence in contract renewal / tenure / promotion dossiers). Here’s a quick re-cap of what happened.

Tech It Out Day

We enjoyed another great Tech It Out Day at Leeward CC on Tuesday, August 16, 2016. Tech It Out Day is an event to explore how technology can enhance teaching and learning in the classroom and online where participants can “test drive” a variety of technology tools, network with peers, and celebrate the start of a new semester.

This year, we were fortunate to have some faculty facilitate sessions by sharing how they use technology in their classes and leading folks through getting started with using the technology tools that they shared. A participant said, “Thank you for the short but very useful sessions! I learned a lot without feeling like the workshops went on for too long! Also, these workshops are so helpful, I can definitely use them in classes.” Another participant commented, “Thank you for engaging sessions. They got right to the point and provided immediately useful information and other resources.” Facilitators and participants earned Tech It Out Day 2016 badges for their involvement and participation.

Now that you got to see and try a few new things, if you would like further help using what you learned or tried, feel free to contact us. We’d love to help you take it to the next step.

Laulima Challenge

Following Tech It Out Day on Tuesday, we had a full house at the Laulima Challenge workshop, facilitated by Greg Walker, Brent Hirata, and me. Everyone was super engaged and learned how to set up the basic tools in Laulima by working together in pairs to do several tasks in Laulima to complete the Laulima Challenge activity. At completion, they earned the “Laulima Challenge Finisher” badge.

Smart Classroom Challenge

On Wednesday, August 17, 2016, Brent Hirata facilitated two Smart Classroom Challenge workshops where instructors had the opportunity to learn about, troubleshoot, and try out the Smart Classroom technologies. Reef Amano, Electronics Technician at the EMC, was also there to lend a hand answering technical questions about the hardware. Participants appreciated the opportunity to access a typical Smart Classroom as well as the newer Smart Classroom in the Education Building. By completing the Smart Classroom challenge activity, participants earned the “Smart Classroom Challenge Finisher” badge.

Syllabus Makeover Challenge

On Thursday, August 18, 2016, I facilitated the Syllabus Makeover Challenge workshop. We had guest instructor, Michele Mahi, start things off by sharing her visual syllabus. Then, we discussed various syllabus activities and how we can create more value of it for the students through creativity and design, created a basic doc with the textual contents for a syllabus, and then transformed it into a dynamic, purposeful, and visual syllabus. A free Google Slides template was shared and participants learned different ways to share their syllabus with their students. A collection of instructors’ syllabi can be found here. Participants were excited to bring new life into their syllabus and many finished creating their visual syllabi after the workshop. Once they implement and share how things went, they can earn the “Visual Syllabus Creator” badge.

Self-Introduction Video

Convocation week was also an opportunity for folks to record a self-introduction video. A self-introduction video is great to help students get to know you, about the course or service you provide, and establish a connection with you. Visit our growing collection of self-introduction videos by Leeward CC faculty and staff.

See You Around!

We enjoyed our time with you and hope to see you around, work with you, and see you in our upcoming workshops/events this semester. If you haven’t attended our Convocation Week events this semester, we hope that you do next semester!

Summer just flew by! Are you ready for fall semester? Here are a five things the EMC can help you with to get ready.

1. Tech It Out Day 2016 starts tomorrow!

Come say hello to all your colleagues and participate in four, quick 30-minute instructional technology sessions. You’ll walk away with valuable tips and tools you can integrate in your classes. We’ll also have a fun bonus session at the end – Pokemon Go @ Leeward. This event is free, including beverages and snacks, and open to the Leeward CC Ohana. Quick, register now!

2. Are your Laulima course sites set up?

Laulima is the University of Hawaii’s online collaborative learning environment. You can use Laulima to organize class materials, streamline communication with your students (including feedback on assignments and grades), reduce paper use, and increase student engagement for your online and face-to-face classes.

Quick Tip: Add the “Statistics” tool in your Laulima site before the semester starts to track student activity in your Laulima course site such as students logging in, accessing certain tools, and more.

Register for the Laulima Challenge which starts after Tech It Out Day on Tuesday, August 16 at 1:00-2:30 PM, where you’ll work with a partner to learn how to use Laulima’s basic tools so you can set-up your courses for the upcoming semester.

3. Get to know your Smart Classroom

Over 60% of Leeward Community College instructional spaces are designated “Smart Classrooms.” These rooms contain the necessary audio, visual, computer and network infrastructure to support 21st century teaching and learning.

Register for the Smart Classroom Challenge on Wednesday, August 17 at 3:00-4:00 PM, to learn how to operate Smart Classroom technologies to support classroom instruction by working with a partner to create an engaging learning activity for students that uses Smart Classroom technologies.

4. Give your syllabus a makeover

Creating a course syllabus and making it available to students is an essential responsibility as an instructor. Creating an interactive syllabus activity paired with a visual syllabus can help your students learn about the course requirements in a more meaningful way and get them excited about what they will be learning.

5. Make a self-introduction video

Self-introduction videos can help you attract students to take your course, establish social presence, and build community in your course. Visit our website to make an appointment to have your self-introduction video recorded by our EMC Video Production crew.

Questions?

The friendly folks at the EMC are available to help you enhance your teaching and students’ learning. Contact an Educational Technologist today.

Reflection is an integral part of the learning process. We can help our students learn by guiding them through reflection to find meaning in their experiences. When students take the time to think about what they did, how they know they learned it, what helped them to learn, what challenges they had, and how they felt, they make connections and discover and uncover the meaning of their learning experiences.

Reflection’s not only for students’ learning, but for ours as instructors as well. Do you make time to reflect on your teaching during and after the semester? What worked well? What didn’t work well? How could you be better or more effective? It is not until we’ve reflected on our experiences that we truly learn and can then improve.

Learn more about reflection strategies to make learning stick and ways you can guide students in reflecting/learning in the following links below:

The web literacy map shows how all web literacy components are connected and when you click on an area on the map, it will show you basic definitions, competencies, and most noteworthy, teaching activities for web literacy. Alternatively, you can access the complete collection of web literacy activities and lesson plans here.

TCC is a three-day, entirely online conference for post-secondary faculty and staff worldwide with over 100 sessions that cover a wide-range of topics related to distance learning and emerging technologies for teaching and learning. Individuals participate in real-time sessions from the comfort of their workplace or home using a web browser to connect to individual sessions. All sessions are recorded for on-demand viewing.

Site licenses for unlimited participation from a campus or system are available. Special reduced rates apply to University of Hawai’i faculty and staff. For more info, contact Sharon Fowler <fowlers@hawaii.edu>.